Jamie Whincup used contract talks to help with drivers' rights

Motorsport writer

V8 Supercars champion Jamie Whincup used his contract renewal negotiations as part of a successful campaign to improve drivers' rights.

Whincup, who begins his quest for a record sixth V8 title at the season opening Adelaide 500 this weekend, has extended his deal with the top-ranked Triple Eight Holden team until the end of next year.

He delayed re-signing as leverage to get team owner Roland Dane to support his efforts to give all drivers more say in how they were used in the promotion of V8 racing.

Dane's influence as a member of the V8 Supercars board of directors added weight to Whincup's campaign, which took up long-running concerns among drivers about some of the terms of their racing licence agreement.

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Their main grievance is that V8 Supercars has the right to unlimited use of their name and likeness to advertise and promote the sport, which they regard as an infringement on their intellectual property (IP) rights.

The drivers have also objected to the demands put on them for promotional and media appearances, with their licence agreement allowing V8 Supercars to enforce their participation.

Leading drivers like Whincup had become frustrated at the sheer number of pre-event promotional appearances they had to make.

Following discussions with V8 executives that started late last year, Whincup has achieved some progress in moderating demands on the drivers' time.

"They're really making sure that when they do ask us to make appearances and stuff that we're maximising the benefit to the team and the sport," he said. "That's what it's all about.

"The (promotional) events we do now are going to be at a higher level. We're not going to do too much; we're going to do fewer, more high quality events, which is perfect.

"We just want a few minor things looked at and, to be honest, so far they've done a good job and we're heading in the right direction."

While his campaign hasn't resulted in revisions of the terms and conditions of the drivers' licence agreement – and the issue of unfettered use of their IP remains unresolved – Whincup is confident that ongoing talks will result in significant improvements of their rights.

"As far as rule changes and things like that go, no, there hasn't been any of that, but it's work in progress," he said. "It's got discussion going, which is all I was after."

Whincup, who won a record-equalling fifth V8 championship last year, completed his preparations for the Adelaide 500 by mountain biking up Mount Lofty with his veteran Red Bull Racing Australia teammate Craig Lowndes on Thursday.

"I'm not over-confident, but I feel like I'm as good a chance as anyone," Whincup said of his chances of a successful start to his title defence. "We have all the tools to win. I'm sure our car will be competitive and I feel physically fit and ready to go, so I think it's up to us.

"If we do a good job on the weekend, we should be there are thereabouts."

The Adelaide 500, run on the 3.2 km Parklands street circuit on the edge on the city, features a new format, with twin 125 km races on Saturday preceding Sunday's traditional 250 kilometre decider.

Grid positions for each of the opening races – the second of which will be the event's first twilight race – will be decided in two qualifying sessions on Friday.